Burn
by ILAUGHATYOUALL
Summary: The apocalypse. The end of the world. The day everyone died. The names of what happened are all are indicative that destruction, loss, and death are the primary results. But that's not all that happened. You see, hope, dreams, and most of all, love, can still happen here. At least, that's what I used to think. Natsu's POV. NaLu FTW
1. Introduction of sorts

Okay, so I just wanted to throw this out there and see what you guys think. I haven't even really edited it. I find that I like doing this, it makes it so it's more urgent that I start writing if I give you a taste of it. Anyway, I thought of this one while listening to City by Hollywood Undead. Awesome song.

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Summary: The apocalypse. The end of the world. The day everyone died. The names of what happened are all are indicative that destruction, loss, and death are the primary results. But that's not all that happened. You see, hope, dreams, and most of all, love, can still happen here. Natsu's POV. NaLu FTW

Title: Burn

Anime: Fairy Tail

Author: ILAUGHATYOUALL

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Prologue... err Introduction of sorts

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I hope you're ready for my tale. I hope you've tucked your kids in bed, and made sure your siblings and parents were safe. Or maybe you're like me. Maybe you don't have any family to check up on. It's probably very presumptuous of me to even say this, but I don't think you really care what happens to me or whoever my family may be at the moment. But at the end of my story, you sure as hell will. I guarantee it.

It all started with a book. The book that changed everything. The book that changed me. Fuck, the book that changed _you_.

The title wasn't anything special. It was a misspelling from some foreigner, probably. It read '_Fairy Tail_', instead of '_Fairy Tal_e'. At the time, I couldn't even understand this. I was young, only twelve years old, when I found it in my father's study. He'd always had a knack for keeping ridiculous books, especially ones about the end of the world conspiracies. I began to think that he actually believed in them.

Of course, I hadn't seen him then for over five years. I probably wasn't the best person to ask what he believed. But then again, maybe I was. According to the world, I was the last person alive to have had contact with him.

The years before_ it_ started were mundane, to say the least. I found myself wanting the world to end, wanting to see it all fall apart. I was seventeen by then, and bored as hell. I wished that everything would just end. Nothing held any significance. Anything that could possibly make me want to keep the world in existence was either dead or missing.

I was eighteen when it happened.

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So I haven't really worked on this story that much. Just thought I'd put up the prologue. Suggestions are definitely welcome. Once I have less on my plate I'll start writing more of this one. I wanted to show what it was like, and if it was worth it.


	2. Chapter 1

Here's my present to everyone before my hiatus. :( I just wanted to get this out before I didn't have any time to write it! :) Enjoy!

OH! And a biiiiig thank you to _letterspluslovenotes _for helping me with this!

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Redo of the summary: Natsu's had a hard life. He's lived through the apocalypse. He has... problems. He's lived alone without a father to watch over him since he was eight. He's watched his best friend die right in front of him... He knows what it's like to feel helpless. But does he know what it's like to fall in love?

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It's sounds weird, but I've always had a fascination with fire. When I was four, I think, I burned myself badly with the candles in the kitchen cabinet at my house. My dad gave me this whole gigantic fire about fire and how it burns down things, making it so that I didn't touch it after that.

At least, I didn't touch it _at home._

When I was six, I bought a box of matches and played with them on my way back from first grade. I had to walk home - dad was too busy to drive me - and I ended up scaring some weirdos over near the basketball courts, a whole block away from my own house.

"Pyro!" one of the guys screwing around with a basketball yelled.

I was confused. I didn't understand what a pyromaniac was, but I knew it was bad. It was an insult, and if there was anything I'd learned from my father it was to never take an insult. I didn't _mean _to hurt them; it just happened. One of them screamed something at me, his arms ablaze. I stared at him, expressionless.

_"AAAAGH! He fucking burned me! It's a demon! Get the hell away from me!"_

I was a demon? _Was _I a demon? I'd have to answer now with a no. But then again, I'm probably not the one to ask about it.

I didn't go to school again. I spent my days reading in my dad's study, which is where I found the Fairy Tail book. That's where I read great big novels and stupid mystery books. At night I snuck back to my bedroom, to sleep alone. I would see my father, sometimes, but not for long. He would always disappear just as quickly. The maids were afraid of me, but they still brought me food and stuff from time to time.

I was seven years old the first time I saw _her._

But none of this crazy past bullshit could explain what was happening now.

"Come at me, Fire Hazard!" yelled a black-haired teen. He was shirtless and wearing a chain with a crucifix around his neck, banging against his chest whenever he moved. I couldn't believe he had something like that on him. I'd given up on there even being a God when I was eight years old.

"Shut up, Pervert!" I yelled in retaliation, turning to him and glaring.

The room we were in wasn't large by _any_ standards. In fact, it looked more like a submarine. The walls were curved and steel grey, and some doors that were suspiciously like lockers were placed in lines on either side of the tube-like room. The two circle-shaped vault-style entrances were opened slightly. I had entered, hoping to be able to change into my training uniform, when _he'd _shown up. Of course, he would probably say it was the other way around, but whatever.

"Never! Do you even _have _a brain?!"

Okay, that was _it_. In a split second I was on him, pounding my fist right into his face. I was breathing really heavily after the first punch. He glared at me, blood pouring out of his nose like a waterfall in a stream. That made me even madder. I punched him again, in the same place and heard a loud 'crack.' I couldn't suppress my grin of satisfaction at his pain.

I think I might have anger issues. Or maybe even more issues than that. Okay, _probably._

The next time I punched him he retaliated, grabbing my fist and trying to twist my wrist. I didn't even flinch as he turned my arm, probably trying to get a wince out of me to make me loosen my grip on him. No way in hell was that going to happen. With a roar, I shoved the fist he was twisting at his face again, but due to his own arm being attached, it narrowly missed. Who the hell was this guy?

"GRAAAAAAY!" yelled a very loud female voice, coming from the entrance that this bastard had come from. It hurt my ears and I winced at the noise, turning my head upwards to glare at the intruder.

The girl was furious, the long red hair that was in a high ponytail at the top of her head was quivering. She couldn't have been more than twenty, but she had an older air about her, like she was the wise one in the room, and she knew it. She was beautiful, but her look of absolute fury put me on edge. I still glared at her, though.

"Yeah, Erza?" The bastard, who must have been named Gray, said, his voice cracking. He gulped, probably downing the blood that was no doubt sliding down to his stomach. I let go of his collar and stood up, staring at the both of them with a look of disgust.

"How can you even have friends in this damned world? We shouldn't _exist_."

Both of their eyes widened at my outburst, earning them another much earned glare from me. I was enraged at how they were acting. By now, 'Gray' had stood up as well and walked to over beside the girl, 'Erza'. They looked really close, which probably aggravated me. It wasn't like I'd been close to anyone like that in ten years, literally. I was surprised I survived through high school and didn't commit suicide. Of course, the Detention Center for Troubled Youth helped an awful lot with that...

"What are you _talking about?_" whispered the girl, obviously disturbed by what I had just said. I shot her a look. "We band together because we've lost so-" she stopped and cleared her throat, getting emotional, huh? "so many of us. If we forget who we can trust, we forget who we are."

My eyes widened at what she said. It struck deep, but I was determined not to show that it did.

I kept my wincing to a minimum, but the redhead definitely noticed it. My dad always told me that my eyes were my weakness, my one and only opening in my brick wall of defense. They told an attentive watcher everything they needed to know about what I thought, felt, and saw. It was an awful weakness, like I was the living proof of that saying that 'the eyes are the opening to the soul.'

Of course, I didn't believe in half of that crap. It was for the dull and gullible people who think whatever they hear from a credible source is correct. I'd been taught to check all of my sources to prove they were right. I really didn't trust anyone for the majority of my life.

"Okay... so?" I asked, my voice sounding tense even to myself. The frown that leaned to the right side on my face deepened into a scowl. I made it sound like I was trying to get her to tell me the point of it all. Surprisingly, she didn't go on to explain. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"You're just a lost soul, aren't you?" she asked, sounding incredulous, "I have a proposition for you, if you'll accept it."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Before I tell you, what regiment are you in?"

"None. I just joined."

"Really?! Where are you from?"

"Don't remember."

The redhead sighed, rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine. I'm terrible at interrogation. But I want you to join our regiment. You'd be able to survive this hell hole of a city better."

I pretended to think it over, then realized I was impulsive as hell, so I could do whatever I wanted. I raised my eyebrows and smoothed it out into a sly smile.

"Sure, I'll join your regiment. But I won't promise that I'll do you any good," I snorted, putting my hands on my hips in an in-charge sort of way. The girl, Erza, responded by mirroring my actions(;) her tight black training uniform fit her figure perfectly.

"Then come with us," she said, sounding really commanding. My immediate instinct was to rebel, to refuse and tell her to go fuck herself, but I resisted the urge. It probably wasn't a good idea to do that at the moment. All I wanted was to... well, I didn't really know what I wanted. I guess I just wanted... peace.

"Sure."

She smiled.

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~***~~~Burn~~~***~

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In this post-apocalyptic world, the outside is almost completely desolate. The great expanse of the earth is desert and dirt, with a few extremely rare oasis that supply oxygen. These green spots are encased in large plastic domes, but there are vents on the side that open in intervals once each day to let in carbon dioxide, only after the oxygen has been sucked out into pipes. These pipes take the oxygen to the 'cities' that are not very far away from the oasis. Essentially, the oasis are the reason I'm alive. They're the reason everyone is still alive.

Each of the cities is a semi-underground expanse of tunnels, large rooms, and cubicles. The parts that are above ground are covered in a layer of graphene silicone, a substance that is clear, but stronger than diamonds. It's flexible and perfect as a barrier to keep out the gases that would be detrimental to a human's health and survival.

I never really took much time to ask _why _they did something this dumb. The problem of the toxicity could be solved fairly easily, but would take time and money that none of the rich bastards who were in charge were willing to give. I swear, they'd sacrifice lives just for money so that they got what they wanted. Even though the 'world'had ended, they still held fast to monetary gain as the ultimate goal;it disgusted me.

That being said it was really difficult to assess the actual situation: transferring between cities was near impossible since over land transport was extremely dangerous and the underground rail system wasn't complete. All around the continent, cities were gathered and crowded by the oasis. It was known as the Oasis system.

Each of the cities in this new world were different, be it because of the type or the structure. The city that I was in at that time was Magnolia, a primarily military center. It was in fact the center of the military organization cities; though it wasn't the central city, it was the central hub of new information and technology. This city had been the one to stop the Fires, but hadn't found the weakness of the monsters that it produced, called _Anima._

The Fires: the unstoppable that had burned and burned and burned the entire world. Well, most of it. The noxious flames had ruined everyone's lives and killed countless people. They were toxic flames that were impossible to put out, by anything. The governments of the world had, in the time of their emergency, suddenly revealed the shelters and precautions that had been taken beforehand. Cities began popping up everywhere, before the fires could come near. The group of scientists in Magnolia had found the cure for the fires. Though it hadn't been spread around, a select few knew what the secret key was to stopping the fire. _I _knew, but it wasn't because I'd been involved or anything; I knew because the answers were in my father's library.

I remembered that day well. The day everything fell to the flames.

* * *

~***~~~Burn~~~***~

* * *

_"Please, do not panic. An emergency alert has been issued by this city Section's __G__overnmental __S__ystem. Please make your way toward the emergency exits as quickly as possible, then follow the A1 guides' instructions. Thank you."_

_I frowned at the message. It was significantly different than any of the other emergency messages. They were usually longer, because the crises were all really dumb and not urgent. But this time..._

_"NATSU!" screamed a girl, opening up the door to my room and running inside._

_"Did you hear that?! We need to evacuate immediately!"_

_I rolled my eyes at the white-haired girl. "It's probably another 'realistic drill.' Besides, what do I gain by going?"_

_"Natsu! Don't be stupid! We have to _go_!"_

_"Why?!"_

_"I... " she paused. I felt a strange twinge inside of me to help her, though I quickly squashed it. "I saw what was happening! It's __F__ire, Natsu, and it's bad."_

_My eyes widened at this revelation. I straightened, and after a nod, followed her out the door. But that didn't mean I was following her the entire way to the emergency shelters. No, I made certain that she'd made it to the shelters, then left to go find something out._

_I made it to the library before the fires came to our city. I heard it before I saw it, out the window and over the urban landscape. A roaring sound, that probably deafened anyone outside, reverberated through the entire house, shaking it by the foundation. I managed to grab onto the unmovable cemented desk in the center of the room, avoiding the crashing bookcases._

_And then the eerie orange glow appeared in the sky, illuminating the sides of the skyscrapers. When I saw it, I have to admit, my heart probably dropped down to the floor. I was frozen, terrified for a moment. The streets, which had been quiet before, suddenly started bustling as people panicked ran out into them, like ants. I exited onto the balcony, taking in the burning smells and fire alarms and screams. Oh, the _screams.

This is it, _I thought, _this is the end I've been waiting so long for.

_But something rebellious to that idea still lived in me. I turned back toward the bookcases that had spilled over and filled up my father's study. I tumbled through them, trying to find a particular book in my father's arsenal. One, dumb book that I had never really understood._

_The cover read: _Fairy Tail_._

_But now it made perfect sense to me. I found the book and began frantically flipping through the pages, some unseen sense propelling me to find what I was looking for. Finally I found the page that I had sought out. It was perhaps the most handled page of the book, crumpled and yellow compared to the rest of it. I winced. I was starting to feel the heat, even through the windows and walls of my father's large city flat._

_And the screams, oh the _screams.

_Something tugged in my stomach. I wanted to throw up, badly. The nausea caused me to pause my reading, and that was when the building started to fall. I fell over onto the floor and knocked my head on something hard. Before I fell completely unconscious, I managed to pull a lighter out of the breast pocket of my black jean jacket. I flicked the switch as the roaring flames burst into the apartment with the force of an explosion large enough to topple a skyscraper._

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~***~~~Burn~~~***~

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I continued following the redhead and the bastard pervert through the halls of the city, glancing back every once in awhile. I chuckled inwardly, figuring that they'd think I was plotting an escape route. The truth was, there was really no reason for me to run.

Finally, we reached the main hall of the city. It was the size of several football fields, and was bustling with activity. The loud bantering of several hundred people made the area open and not private at all. Tables and stations lined the walls and created pathways throughout; I'd always hated it here.

"So..." I trailed off, catching up to Erza and Gray, "Who are we looking for first?"

The redhead smirked, pointing to a particularly large table, covered in a dark blue cloth. A line consisting of probably over fifty people, easily the largest group in the entire building, trailed straight down to where they were. I gave the redhead a look, I was _not _going to wait in this fucking long line... I would die before I got patience that nice.

"Don't worry, if you're with us, you can skip the line," she smirked, nodding toward a few individuals who sat at the table. She then whispered something to the dark haired idiot beside her, and he begrudgingly headed over to a medic table. I sent him a warning glance, just in case he ever decided to mess with me again.

"Come on," said Redhead, motioning for me to follow her. I passed by the line, glancing every so often at the people waiting in it. Some gave me dirty looks, which I happily returned, while others didn't pay any attention. There was a large variety of people in the line:men and women, young and old, but mostly between the ages of thirteen and... I was guessing fifty? I wasn't certain.

We reached the start of the line at the table. A guy who looked to be a few years older than me with blue hair and a red tattoo on the right side of his face was busy discussing something serious with the person at the front of the line, a tall, blonde, muscular man. I chuffed at both of them; I could definitely take them... Both of them... At the _same time._

The other person at the table, a younger girl with blue hair and a headband, had just finished referring another 'customer' (as I had now dubbed them) to another table on the other side of the whole room. She looked up and pushed her glasses up her nose, before spotting Redhead. She waved.

"Hey, Levy," said Redhead, putting both of her hands down on the table in front of her. The female bluenette smiled up at her, but glanced at me wearily a few times.

"What is it, Erza? Anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, in fact, there is," admitted Redhead. She leaned down on her left arm and turned to look at me, making me even more visible. I scowled at the new attention.

"I want this guy in my regiment. What do you have on him?" she asked, quite rudely in my opinion. When did I ever give her permission to-

"Name?"

"Er... Natsu Dragneel," I mumbled. Might as well play along.

'Levy' took a few moments, pulling out a high tech tablet device that was partially invisible and placing it on the table. She scrolled through something that looked like a database. Her face became confused, and I rolled my eyes. She had probably figured it out by now.

"Um, Erza?" she motioned for her to come closer. Redhead obliged and put her head by Levy's. The bluenette put her hand up and whispered something, glancing up at me nervously. I crossed my arms, trying to look grumpy, and spun around slowly. I looked around the rest of the hall, taking in all the sounds and sights and people. It was a little disorienting, but I got over the initial shock quickly. I began looking at people individually and profiling them. I saw the blonde tough dude from earlier, now talking with the Science and Development table, the second most popular one. I turned my gaze to another person, this time a guy in baggy jeans and a green hoodie with earrings and shades. Douchebag.

The next person I saw was a girl. I only saw her back, first. She was blonde, probably cute, due to the outfit, which consisted of a skirt and matching blue and white top, as well as the bow in her hair. She was standing in the line behind the douchebag I'd profiled earlier. I waited for her to turn, anticipatorily. And then, she _did _turn.

_This could not be happening._

Her brown eyes were sad, but they glimmered with an unfound hope in this cruel world. My eyes were wide and I felt myself freeze as I watched her glance around at the rest of the crowd nervously. Before I could stop myself, I started running toward her.

"_LUCY_!"

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Thank you for reading this! So, what'd you think of the first chapter? Many more to come, by the way. :D


	3. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! Thanks for clicking on this! I really kind of like this fanfiction and hope you do as well!

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To be frank, I expected to find a lot of things when I came to Magnolia. I expected to find weird names, faces, and military and science freaks. I expected to stumble upon a couple of secrets. Strangely enough, I even expected to get caught for knowing what I knew, but for some reason I didn't actually give a damn.

I did _not _expect to find a certain blonde here. Never.

Which kind of explained my reaction a little bit. A _little _bit. Not much.

"_LUCY_!"

Her name rang out like a moth fluttering into the fray for the first time. The sound, so well reverberated in my chest, was drowned out by the loud noises that enveloped the surrounding area. The place was thick with sounds and talking and scuffling and I hated it. As I ran, I felt like ripping every single solitary soul that was talking to shreds, all so that she could hear me.

And she turned. It was like she was spinning in slow motion, her soft hair bounced a little as her neck twisted. She blinked, and I knew I was a goner. Nothing on earth, nothing in this terrible damned world could bring me down. The only thing that could ever do that was her.

A look of disgust passed through her features and my mind paused for a moment. I quickly thought back to _years _before, and realized that she had given me that very same look a long time ago. It felt like something in my chest sank into my stomach. Might have been my heart, but I kind of doubted that I even had one at that point.

I felt the air rushing through my hair and into my face as I ran harder. She was so close, but so far away. I think that my brain, for some awkward reason, had done a total close up on her when I'd seen her, so that I had absolutely no sense of space or time; it's scary what shock can do.

But I wanted to believe that it was her, so I drowned everything else out.

And then I reached her. I deliberately slowed down and bent over, exhausted. I was panting hard, but I raised my head to look at her. Lucy. _My _Lucy.

"Uh, hello?"

Her voice was probably the softest thing that existed at the moment. I blinked as I caught my breath, the next second I found myself glaring. Her hand had grabbed the hem of that douchebag's sleeve, like he was protecting her or something. I felt my fists tighten as I realized what she had just said.

"Hey," I breathed, still panting heavily. I straightened slowly, sizing him up. He was about my height, a total douchebag, probably way too confident. Yeah, I could totally take him.

"W-who are you?"

I don't think I completely registered what she meant by that at the moment. My mind was fixated on her deep brown eyes, her gorgeous hair, and her soft features. She was a fucking angel.

"Excuse me?"

It was _her _voice again. I scrambled to pull myself out of my temporary visions and stared at her silently. Her face was flushed but she looked nervous and uneasy. The douchebag in front of her turned to ask her what was wrong and my glare was redirected at him. He froze then glared back as he gently touched her arm.

"Who the hell are you?!" he asked incredulously. My first inclination was to beat the shit out of him and steal Lucy away to interrogate her. Either that, or I could just beat the douchebag to a bloody pulp and continue to do so until he got that I wasn't supposed to be messed with. I liked the second option better.

And so I punched him. The cracking sound that my knuckles made as I delivered the uppercut to his chin made me wince. I could feel the sharp pain explode in my hand as I brought my arm back. The idiot flew backwards and knocked into the next table over, probably cafeteria management from the number of screams.

I could vaguely hear a girl screaming from behind me, but my vision was red now and I couldn't hear anything but the blood rushing through my head. That guy had definitely done _something _to piss me off.

I stomped over to where he was trying to sit up and wipe the blood from his split chin. I didn't even notice that the crowds and lines were starting to disperse, I just knew that now my path to the douchebag had cleared. I couldn't stop my grin, I was going to punish this guy who had touched her, touched _my _Lucy.

When I reached him he had managed to stand back up and put his fists up... How _cute. _It made me grin even more. He growled and ran at me, his left hand raised slightly higher than his right. In the next second I ducked his left blow and returned with my own left fist, this time clipping his cheek. He spat blood as he hit the floor then glared murderously up at me, his hazel eyes alight with rage. Oh, but he wasn't as mad as me. No way in hell.

"What the fuck was that for?!" he yelled from his rightful place on the floor.

"You pissed me off!" was my answer. His face fell in shock at my retort and I laughed at him. The sound echoed across the huge room, then it became silent. I looked around, and saw that everyone was watching us with wide eyes. My own eyes trailed over their shaken faces, but I paused at a particular one. Unlike the rest, her face was sad and terrified. Tears streamed down her face, and at the same time panic pulsed through my veins. The fist that I was holding up dropped uselessly to my side.

And the room was silent. I couldn't hear anything. Not the murmuring, not the cries for security, not the whines for more fighting, not the dripping of blood from off of my skinned knuckles, not the douchebag's whimpering, not even my harsh gasping of breath. Nothing. Even the faces and bodies surrounding her in the crowd were blurred. The only really visible thing in my mind was her face, covered in wet and sloppy tears. Blood rushed to my head and I felt myself falling, kind of like in slow motion.

_Lucy._

* * *

~***~~~Burn~~~***~

* * *

"_Natsuuuu! Come on, you weirdo!"_

_My face felt hot. It was definitely from the heat of the sun and not the... girl... standing beside me and pulling me by my hand toward a playground. The city lights were beginning to come on as the sun came down, dying the city a deep orange hue. _

"_Why do I gotta?" I asked gruffly and wiping my mouth with my free hand. My eyebrows were low enough that I could see the pink hairs on them. I scowled__,__ I really hated pink hair._

"_Becaaaaauuuse! Now come on!" She finally was able to grasp my hair and pull hard enough for me to be incentivized to get my ass off of the ground. I'd been stubbornly sitting on the rough concrete, just to avoid having to go to the park again. I hated the park. It was pointle-_

"_Y'know the girls will never like you if you're grumpy like that!" she cried, making sure I was certain to hear. My eyes widened. Was she right?_

_I looked up at her again, a smile spreading slowly across my usually frowning face. I'd be happy, but only because she wanted me to, not because it would get girls to like me or anything._

_Little did I know that was the last time I'd see her smiling face._

* * *

~***~~~Burn~~~***~

* * *

Cold. Cold water. On. My. Face.

"AAAAGGHHH!" I spluttered, choking on ice cold liquid of some sort as it ran down and off my face. I could feel the fabric of my shirt soaking up the freezing wetness and clinging to my chest as I sat up and opened my eyes. Water, as it turned out to be, was still running down my face, so I had to keep wiping my eyes as I took in the situation.

I was in a hospital room of some kind. White walls with a tiny window letting in some light from the above ground and a lamp on the other side of the small room were all that I could see. Oh, and the girl sitting on top of me. Lucy.

Wait, _Lucy?!_

My brain went on overdrive, trying to figure out why the hell she was here. Of course, it was impossible to deny that my heartbeat had just increased twofold and blood was rushing to my face, due to the close proximity we were in no doubt. Her eyes were wide, and for a moment she looked lost, but the next second her breath caught in her throat.

"Uh, you really awake now?" she managed to choke out. I rocketed into a sitting position and grabbed her shoulders to keep her from losing her balance. She made a little squeaking noise but quickly looked to be steeling herself, her fists clenching on the white sheets; she had dropped the bucket of water over the side of the bed.

"Does it look like it?" I drawled sarcastically. She nodded, embarrassed. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest as I exhaled slowly, realizing that she was now sitting on my lap in a very weird position. I tried to calm myself. I was extremely aware of her soft thighs on mine. I felt heat rush to my face immediately as my face fell slack. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively, then seemed to realize the positioning we were in too. Frankly, I was wondering what the fuck I was doing, but this other part of my brain that liked this situation refused to relinquish command. I didn't like this, '_being_' out of control. Of course whenever I _really _went out of control I didn't even realize it was happening.

"I-" she stopped herself, before taking a deep breath and continuing on, "I just wanted to ask you a question. I don't want to have anything to do with you, honestly." Her voice toward the end was hard.

Okay, that kinda stung. As she squirmed uncomfortably under my grip, I sighed and released her. She slid off me and landed on the floor. I noted, as I had stupidly failed to before, that she was wearing a nurse's uniform. A light gray fitted dress that reached to right above her kneecaps, as well as a dark red cross and a hat that matched made up the outfit. Still...

"So, what's the question?" I grumbled, perturbed. Her eyes widened.

"I was wondering how you knew me," she said, twisting a few strands of her blonde hair nervously.

I dropped the hand I was holding up.

"W-what do you mean?! Of course I know you, Lucy!" I yelled, intent on making her understand. Her face was confused.

"Well, that's the problem. I don't have any memories from before fourteen months ago."

_Why the fuck are the worst cliche moments in drama always so accurate when they happen in real life?!_

I was struggling to keep my face straight, but it wasn't working.

"S-so you don't remember anything? What the hell is that..." I trailed off, then leaned forward, balling my hands into fists. Then I exploded.

"_You mean you don't remember that you died?! Is that what you're trying to tell me?!"_

* * *

~***~~~Burn~~~***~

* * *

"D-dragneel?!" the bluenette's voice squeaked in question. The one named Erza nodded slowly, not understanding her distress.

"Uh..." responded Levy, "That name doesn't exist in our database."

"What do you mean?!" demanded Erza, her fists were clenched on the table before her. The main recruitment hall was mostly silent, so her voice carried and echoed on the high ceiling and walls. After the commotion with that Natsu kid, she had taken responsibility and urged everyone to leave the hall because recruiting times were over. Only a few people were left, and they were mostly organizing the papers, tablets and application forms.

"Shhh," Levy warned, placing a finger on her lips, "I said what I meant. There isn't a Dragneel alive. Now, there is someone from the 'recently dead' named Natsu Dragion..."

Erza's eyebrows scrunched together, showing her worry clearly. She was perplexed, something that she almost never felt.

"I want to talk to him," she announced suddenly, straightening. Her long red ponytail swung as she caught the eye of the other blue-haired attendant. "Jellal."

He raised his head.

"Come with me."

His blue head dipped in a nod as he smiled. "Sure."

After they had left, Levy sighed exasperatedly and hit her head with her palm. "A man of few words... Ugh. Go, Erza."

* * *

~***~~~Burn~~~***~

* * *

My outburst echoed slightly on the small walls of my hospital room. Lucy was frozen, her eyes wide as she stared at me incredulously. It was obvious that she didn't believe me.

"You're insane," she announced hollowly. Now it was my turn to stare at her incredulously.

"Wh-"

"Sorry for the intrusion!" Redhead burst in through the door. Trailing behind her was the blue-haired guy from the registration table before. Redhead stopped when she saw Lucy and gave me a glare. "What's this?"

"She woke me up with a bucket of water," I explained, not having the motivation to say something unsavory. Redhead raised an eyebrow. Did nobody ever believe me here?

"Is that so..." she threw a questioning look to Lucy, who nodded faintly. Fuck, she was shocked. "Well then," Redhead continued, "I need you to sign this paperwork here." She thrust a stack of papers toward me.

"What the fuck is this?" I asked, disgusted. I hated signing things.

"You'll see when you read it," she spat, before turning toward Lucy and putting on a sympathetic expression. "I'm gonna need you to leave, if that's okay." Lucy nodded quickly before leaving. Just like that, she was gone. I didn't do anything to stop her..._d__amn_.

"So, go ahead and read it!" yelled Redhead, leaning closer to me and growling. Pushy, huh?

"I was finding it hard with your breath in my nose. It clogs the mind."

"Shut up!"

"Erza," another voice sighed, "Just calm down. He's doing it on purpose." I froze. Bluehead had finally spoken. I dodged another pointed glare from Redhead. "Oh fine," she mumbled, "But he's really annoying me this time."

"That's only because you let him. If I remember correctly, you were quite adamant earlier that he be put in your regiment..." was Bluehead's reply.

"What's your name anyway?" I asked, "I don't feel like calling you Bluehead anymore."

Bluehead frowned. "Bluehead? No, I'm not going to ask. My name is Jellal."

"Just get on with the signing!" Redhead urged. I sighed heavily like a middle schooler, and relented.

The first page was the title page. I groaned in pure agony, this was going to be a long one. Of course, I'd read _much _longer things, but this was boring.

"If you need us, we'll be in the lounge. Come get me when you're done." I pretended to ignore Redhead's warning.

The next twenty-five pages were all clarification, mainly having to do with my health and mental condition; I skipped the mental examination part, wondering what they'd think of that. I filled out the next ten forms, which were basically what I was willing to do. One of them asked if I was willing to give my life for 'the good of the people'. I rolled my eyes when I read that one; of course I wasn't. If I died out there, it wouldn't be for the good of anyone other than the fat corrupt officials. That's what I put as the answer.

For the last forty pages it was a quiz. A quiz for what I knew about the current situation. This was ideally good for the government because this way, they knew who knew what. Like hell I was going to tell them what I knew. I'd be dead within the next hour at least.

The very last page had a signature section set up. I squinted at it. Instead of my name, Natsu Dragneel, it had Natsu Dragion. This was confusing... did the other bluenette hear me wrong? No. They must not have me in the database. _Oh. I get it. _I signed 'Natsu Dragion' on the line.

When I reached Redhead and Jellal, they were sitting in the miniscule waiting room of the infirmary. The room was barely 8 x 8. I could probably kick off from one wall and hit the other one if I tried...

"Ah, Pinkhead. Did you finish it all?" Redhead asked, examining her nails. I couldn't help but notice that she was sitting awfully close to Jellal. I smirked. "Of course I finished it. I had a question, though."

"You finished it in that short amount of time?!" Redhead guffawed, "It's only been ten minutes!"

"Tch. Just answer the damn question. Why isn't my real name on here? And who the hell is Natsu Dragion anyway?" I asked coolly. Okay, maybe not so coolly.

"Someone who died recently. However, if the death occurred less than two hours before, and it hasn't been confirmed officially, we can still use the person's identity," Redhead explained.

"Okay what was your name again?"

"Erza. Now this is where it gets difficult. If you fuck up and say your name is Dragneel, then it's over, got it? Which brings us to the real issue. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, _Erza_, I thought you already asked that question," I smirked.

"You aren't supposed to be alive. Tell me why."

"Huh. I almost died during the Fires. I have no idea why they think I'm dead, but they do."

Erza was silent for a moment. Jellal looked to be thinking as well.

"Well I don't really care about any of that, as long as I have you under my command," she declared, standing up, "Your combat skills are amazing despite your apparent lack of training, you think quick and on your feet, and I can't just have you wandering about here aimlessly."

I narrowed my eyes at her. This was awfully suspicious.

"But hey, you don't have to stay forever. Just come with us for one month as a trial. I promise not to keep you beyond that."

"I noticed that in the paperwork."

She looked surprised. "You read that whole damn thing? Huh."

I smirked. "I've already signed it. No turning back now."

"Yup," she agreed. I sighed inwardly. Maybe this would be better than I had expected it to be. And if I was in luck, there was a lot more to be sorted out here. Might as well enjoy it.

* * *

If you're reading this, that means you read it! Thanks for doing that! I'd really appreciate any feedback or suggestions you may have!


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